He is particularly notable for his activities between 10 November and 17 December 1942, during the Battle of Stalingrad. He killed 225 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and other Axis armies, including 11 enemy snipers.[2] Before the 10th November, he had already killed 32 Axis soldiers with the standard Mosin-Nagant rifle.[2] Between October 1942 and January 1943, Zaytsev had made 242 verified kills,[3] but the real number may be much higher;[4] some argue it might have been as many as 400.[5] His military rank at the time was Junior Lieutenant.

A film called Enemy At The Gates is based on his achievements during WWII.